Do you remember the not so long go good old days where if you wanted to find out what books were coming out from our favorite authors, you had to drive to the bookstore and look on their big board above the cash register for the release dates?  

I used to love that moment when I saw one of my favorite author's books on that placard. The ones I absolutely must buy, I'd pre-order. It took me a while to realize the new books arrived on Tuesdays, but when I did, I started putting a quick bookstore stop (it was a Waldenbooks back then) on my calendar.

Neil Gaiman has announced he'll be taking a six month social media sabbatical starting in January 2014. When I read the story in the Guardian this morning, I couldn't help but cheer for him. 

Every year, during Lent, I take a social media sabbatical. I preload a bunch of links, I warn everyone I'll be gone, and I disappear. I've done this every year for the past three, and each year I write somewhere between 50-70K works (1/2-3/4 of a normal sized commercial novel.) So I know that social media impacts my time, dramatically.

I have a love/hate relationship with social media.  

Succinct title, eh? I first wrote the bulk of this blog in June 2008, and now, 5 years later, after finding myself in another  reaaaaaally awkward situation, I've decided to do a quick update and post it again. Because I'm Emily Post. Get it? Emily ... Post? HAHAHA!

I've been struggling mightily with this post, because it discusses behavior -- and as such can be misinterpreted, or twisted, and I don't want either of those things to happen.

I was put in an awkward situation the other day by a "pre-published" new author. The author introduced him/herself, then announced that I would be receiving the manuscript for an endorsement, and wanted my agent's number (right then) so he could be called directly using my name as the in.